Pandemic is Over Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 382, and I urge my colleagues to support my motion to recommit which would prohibit this legislation from going into effect if it will negatively impact Medicare beneficiaries.

Speaker McCarthy has publicly stated that cuts to Medicare will be off the table in any debt ceiling negotiations, but that commitment clearly does not carry over to today's legislation.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 382 would increase patient costs and cut hospital payments to Medicare beneficiaries.

In its nearly 68 years of existence, Medicare has given millions of Americans access to affordable healthcare coverage. Generations have been given peace of mind knowing that they will have comprehensive available coverage to them as they age, regardless of their financial status.

In 2021, nearly 64 million Americans, including 4.8 million Floridians, were enrolled in Medicare. These individuals are Democrats, Republicans, and everything in between. They are our friends, our family members, our colleagues, our neighbors, our mentors. We must ensure that these beneficiaries can continue to rely on the lifesaving coverage provided through Medicare.

The President has announced his intention to end the public health emergency on May 11, providing a glide path to smoothly transition out of the emergency era programs. As Florida's former director of Emergency Management during the early days of the pandemic, I helped stand up many of the public health emergency initiatives that provided Americans with COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines at no charge. These initiatives offered enhanced social safety net benefits to help the Nation cope with the pandemic and minimize the impact.

What would an instant cut to the social safety net mean for Medicare beneficiaries and their families? The American family could face an abrupt increase in costs and decrease in care. What would this mean for your local hospital back home?

Hospitals could see a cut of 20 percent for care of COVID patients. Without a responsible plan in place, millions of patients, including many veterans and children, would abruptly face increased barriers to critical hospital care. Rural patients and those with behavioral health needs would be among the most impacted.

So why are some of my colleagues pushing for this to happen? Because it is rooted in political messaging, not thoughtful policy.

An instant termination to the public health emergency without proper coordination with agencies, States, and providers, would interrupt insurance coverage, access to care, increase patients' out-of-pocket costs, and threaten provider payments.

I, like many of my Democratic colleagues and millions of Americans, want to officially end the pandemic and the emergency. As I mentioned, President Biden has announced his intention to do so while taking the time necessary to absorb the impacts.

Pushing for an immediate cessation of the emergency initiatives for messaging purposes could leave millions of Medicare beneficiaries unexpectedly without access to programs that they are currently on.

Mr. Speaker, it is for those reasons that I submit a motion to recommit that will prohibit the bill from going into effect if it will negatively impact Medicare beneficiaries.

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Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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